Adjustable type construction



Nov. 12, 1968 B. s. BOSTROM ADJUSTABLE TYPE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 22,1966 INVENTOR- BERNARD G. BOSTROM BY Zgy, M4 szaw ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,410,209 ADJUSTABLE TYPE CONSTRUCTION Bernard G. Bostrom,Woodland Hills, Calif., assignor to Reynolds Printasign Co., acorporation of Nevada Filed Apr. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 544,569 1 Claim.(Cl. 101368) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is a type holdingclip, bracket or device. The bracket or holder is one adapted for usewith a type mounting stem having a flat end plate or head of larger areathan the stem so that its edges overhang the sides of the stem. Theholder or clip provides a flat surface to which the type is secured bysuitable means, the clip or holder having depending parts which arespaced from the edges of the plate or head on the stem and which thenhave inwardly turned parts which engage the underneath surface of theoverhanging edges of the plate or base. Preferably the depending partsare on opposite sides of the clip. This construction makes it possibleto move the clip universally, that is in any direction includingangularly to adjust the position of the type, and the clip is removableby sliding .it endwise relative to the plate or head.

The present invention relates to an assembly for mounting type on asupport member and, more particularly, to such an assembly wherein thetype is substantially universally adjustable on the support member andeasily removable therefrom.

In the various types of imprinting or typewriting machines heretoforeused, the type has normally been fixedly mounted in a permanent manneron a support member which has been removably mountable in a fixedposition on the machine. In such a construction, if the type were notproperly oriented on the support member, or if the support member werenot properly constructed for a proper fit on the machine, the type would-be disposed in an improper position relative to the other type on themachine, thereby resulting in an improper orientation of the impressioncreated by the type on the article to be imprinted. Further, if the typein such a construction were damaged, both it and the support member towhich it was fixedly attached would have to be replaced, even thoughthere was no damage to the support member, thus involving an additionalunnecessary expense.

In some forms of previously and presently used imprinting or typewritingmachines, the type has been removably mounted on its support member sothat in the event of damage, only the type would have to be replaced. Insuch machines, however, the type has not been adjustable relative to itssupport member, and the latter has not been adjustable relative to themachine on which it was mounted, thereby requiring that the type and thesupport member be precisely formed and assembled on the machine toinsure the proper orientation of the indicia represented by the type onan article to be imprinted by the machine.

While some forms of past and presently used imprinting or typewritingmachines have utilized a type mount ing assembly wherein the type isremovably mounted on a support member and adjustable relative thereto,these machines have not proven entirely satisfactory for the reason thatthe type is adjustable only to a limited extent relative to the supportmember, i.e., the type is adjustable only in one or two directions, oris not adjustable to a sufiicient extent to compensate for an improperconstruction or mounting of a support member on the machine. In stillother machines where the type has been adjustable relative to thesupport member, the means utilized for 3,410,209 Patented Nov. 12, 1968holding the type in an adjusted position has not been adequate tomaintain the type in this position after the machine has been used for aconsiderable period of time, with the result that the type has shiftedon the support member to an improperly aligned position.

The adjustable type construction of the present invention possesses noneof the aforementioned disadvantages, and yet embraces substantially allthe advantages of similarly employed type-mounting constructions.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a newand improved construction for removably and adjustably mounting type ona support member of an imprinting or typewriting machine.

Another object is the provision of a new and improved construction forremovably and adjustably mounting type on a support member of animprinting machine, in a manner wherein the type will be maintained inits adjusted position on the support member even when the machine iscontinuously used for substantial periods of time.

A further object is to provide a new and improved construction formounting type on a support member of an imprinting machine wherein thetype is substantially universally adjustable relative to the supportmember.

An additional object is the provision of a new and improved constructionfor removably and adjustably mounting type on a support member of animprinting mechanism wherein the type is easily removable from thesupport member for replacement in the event of damage, wear, or thelike.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved construction forremovably and adjustably mounting type on a support member of animprinting machine, which construction is simple, economical tomanufacture, and comprises a minimum of parts which may be readilyassembled and disassembled.

According to the present invention, the support member is in the form ofa stern that is removably mountable on an imprinting machine in anysuitable manner. Secured to one end of the stem is a base member whichpreferably is of a square or rectangular shape and has a fiat upperface. An open-ended clip is mounted on the base member and comprises aflat upper portion in slidable engagement with the upper base memberface, a pair of depending side arms which enclose and are spaced fromopposite sides of the base member, and hooked portions at the lower endsof the arms which frictionally engage the lower face of the base memberto normally retain the clip in a desired, adjusted position on the basemember. The type is secured to the upper portion of the clip in anysuitable manner, such as by soldering, and thus is adjustable relativeto the stem by adjusting the position of the clip relative to the basemember.

The present invention, both as to its organization and manner ofoperation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencecharacters refer to like elements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a type mounting assembly constructedin accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIGURE 1, showingthe parts in aligned, but in separated relation; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged end elevational view as seen from the left ofFIGURE 1.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIGURE1 illustrates a type mounting assembly 10 comprising a stem member 12having an enlarged base or end portion 14 integrally formed on one endthereof or rigidly secured thereto. The stem 12 is of any suitablecross-sectional shape and the other end thereof (not shown) isconstructed and mountable in any suitable manner on any suitable type ofimprinting or typewriting machine (not shown), such as that disclosed inthe United States Patent No. 3,215,245, issued Nov. 2, 1965.

The base portion 14 may be of any suitable crosssectional shape andpreferably is square or rectangular in configuration, and has a fiatupper face 16 which is disposed in a plane that is substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stem 12. The base portion14 further comprises depending, parallel end faces 18, depending andparallel side faces 20, and a lower face 22 which is substantially flatand parallel to the upper face 16 (see FIGURES 2 and 3). Both the baseportion 14 and the stem 12 preferably are formed of a suitable metal,such as aluminum, copper, iron or steel, although they could be formedof any other suitable material.

A type block or head 24 having type 26 formed thereon 'in any suitableor conventional manner, is secured to the fiat upper face 28 of aresilient clip 30 in any suitable manner, such as by soldering. The typeblock 24 and type 26 may be formed of any suitable materials. Forexample, the block 24 may be formed of aluminum or steel, and the type26 may be formed in an upper copper layer (not shown) on the type block.In addition, the type block 24 may be oriented relative to the clip 30in any desired manner, depending on its predetermined relation to thestem 12 and base member 14.

The clip 30 preferably is formed of a flexible and resilient material,such as spring steel, or any other suitable material, and comprises apair of depending arms 32 on opposite sides thereof which extenddownwardly beyond the lower face 22 of the base portion 14 and terminatein upwardly extending hooked ends 34 that are adapted to frictionallyand resiliently engage the lower base portion face 22. As shown inFIGURE 3, the arms 32 of the clip 30 are laterally spaced apredetermined distance from the sides of the base portion 14, for apurpose to be more fully described hereinafter.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the clip 30serves to mount the type block 24 and type 26 on the base poition 14 ofthe stem 12, and to retain them in a predetermined position relative tothe stern, owing to the frictional engagement of the resilient hookedends 34 of the clip 30 with the lower face 22 of the base portion 14.Owing to the open ends of the clip 30, it can be shifted longitudinallyon the base portion 15, against the frictional resistance between thehooked ends 34 and the base portion lower face 22, to adjust the type 26relative to the stem 12 in a longitudinal direction. Further, by movingthe clip 30 longitudinally a sufficient distance in either direction, itmay be removed from the base portion 14 of the stem 12 to enable new orother type to be mounted on the base portion in a similar manner, whenthe original type is worn or damaged or when it is desired to change it.

Because of the lateral spacing between the clip arms 32 and the adjacentsides 20 of the base portion 14, the clip 30 may also be shiftedlaterally on the base portion, for the purpose of shifting the type 26thereon laterally relative to the stem 12. Moreover, owing to theclearance 4 between the clip 30 and both the ends 18 and sides 20 of thebase portion 14, the clip may also be rotated or moved obliquelyrelative to the base portion 14, substantially in the plane of its upperface 16, to thus rotate or shift the type 26 thereon relative to thestem 12.

It will thus be readily appreciated that the resilient clip 30 and thetype 26 mounted thereon are substantially universally adjustablerelative to the stem 12, substantially in the plane defined by the flatupper face 16 of the base portion 14. As described above, the clip 30 islongitudinally, laterally, obliquely and rotatably slidable on the upperface 16 of the base portion 14.

It is preferable that the frictional engagement of the hooked ends 34 ofthe clip 30 with the lower face 22 of the base portion 14 be ofsufiicient force to require the use of a simple tool (not shown), suchas a plier-type tool, for moving the clip 30 on the base portion 14 ofthe stem 12. In this manner, the clip 30 will normally be securelyretained in an adjusted position on the base portion 14 by the tightengagement of the hooked ends 34 with the lower base portion face 22,thereby preventing inadvertent shifting of the clip 30 and the type 26thereon relative to the stem 12, when the imprinting machine (notshown), on which the stem 12 is mounted, is continuously used forsubstantial periods of time. When it is desired to adjust the type 26relative to the stem 12, therefore, all that is required is to shift theclip 30 in a desired manner on the base portion 14, through the use of asuitable, simple tool.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a type mounting assembly, the combination of: a supporting stemhaving a head at one end thereof provided with a flat top surface, saidhead extending laterally of said stem and defining downwardly facingfiat shoulders laterally of said stern; a type holding clip having aflat portion bearing on said top surface and downwardly extendingportions spaced outwardly from opposite sides of said head; holdingmeans at the lower ends of said downwardly extending portions, saidholding means extending inwardly and frictionally engaging said flatshoulders; and a type block secured to said clip whereby said clip andtype block are universally adjustable on said top surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,189,522 7/1916 Anderson l97-361,343,073 6/ 1920 Anderson vet al. 101268 2,467,604 4/1949 Tinnerman etal. 287189.35 2,899,895 8/1959 Tannery 10l405 X ROBERT E. P-ULFREY,Primary Examiner.

F. A. WINA-NS, Assistant Examiner.

